The Charge

"You're so beautiful, like a tree…or a high class
prostitute."

Opening Statement

After two brilliant seasons on HBO, the classic folk-rock sitcom Flight of
the Conchords called it quits in 2009, returning their hapless heroes Bret
and Jemaine to New Zealand. But cheer up, FOTC fans, don't let it get you
down—we still have 22 hilarious episodes to obsessively re-watch, now
conveniently packaged in one handy boxed set.

Facts of the Case

When Flight of the Conchords landed on HBO in 2007, Bret (Bret
McKenzie) and Jemaine (Jemaine Clement)—who billed themselves as "New
Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy
folk duo"—looked to be another mock rock band in the vein of
Tenacious D and Spinal Tap. But they quickly established their own identity as a
pair of lovable losers, perpetually broke would-be folk-rock stars trying to
make their name in America, but far too polite and clueless to make it much
further than the occasional gig at the city aquarium or public library.

With their low-key charm and clever, infectious songs drawn from all over
the musical map, the Conchords almost immediately became a cult phenomenon,
their live shows selling out all over the country, lyrics from their songs being
quoted all over the Internet, and YouTube videos of them being passed around
social networking sites.

The Evidence

At first glance, the appeal of FOTC isn't immediately apparent; while the
premise of a self-parodying band making fun of musicians' pomposity with
deliberately lame lyrics is a reliable source of comedy, it's a concept we've
seen since at least as far back as The Rutles. When the show premiered in 2007,
I was skeptical. But I can remember the exact second I became a convert: exactly
three minutes into the first episode of Season 1. Bret and Jemaine are at a
party, trying unsuccessfully to mingle and ending up sitting together on a
couch. Jemaine looks up from his samosa and beer and sees…The Girl.
Suddenly we hear plinky guitars as Jemaine, squinting sexily behind his
horn-rimmed glasses, croons, "Yea-heah…" and breaks into a
luscious Prince-esque soul ballad as he approaches her:

Looking at the room, I can tell that you Are the most beautiful girl
in the…room. And when you're on the street, depending on the
street, I bet you are definitely in the top three Good looking girls
on the street.

By the time Jemaine "seals the deal" with his super sexy dance
moves, I was in love with this show.

As a vaguely mockumentary-style sitcom about a pair of folk-rock musicians
who suck in real life (a running joke is that they almost always play the same
song at every gig, a lame number consisting solely of the repeated monotone
lines "Who likes to rock the party? / We like to rock the party") but
in their imaginations explode into elaborately produced, music-video-style
musical numbers, Flight of the Conchords is hilariously witty even
without the songs. Surrounding the main duo is a perfect supporting cast,
including Murray Hewitt (Rhys Darby, Pirate Radio) as their ineffectual
band manager, an unforgettably crazy-eyed Kristen Schaal as Mel, their single
obsessed fan, and their friend Dave Mohumbhai (Arj Barker), who gives the duo
reliably wrongheaded advice on how to score with American women.

Most of the episodes center around the band's poverty (at one point Bret's
purchase of a teacup sends the pair down a spiral of financial ruin ending with
Jemaine becoming a male prostitute) and inability to get either paying gigs or
dates with women, as well as plenty of self-deprecating jokes about New
Zealanders' naivete and cluelessness. Each episode also features at least one or
two songs, which are the show's centerpiece.

It's impossible to pick a favorite, but a couple of classics include Season
One's "Business Time" ("Girl, tonight we're gonna make love. You
know how I know, baby? 'Cause it's Wednesday. And Wednesday night is the night
that we make love.") and Season Two's awesomely freaky
"Sugalumps" ("Honeys try all kinds of tomfoolery / To steal a
feel of my family jewelry"). The songs may seem superficially half-assed,
but listen closely and you'll see how meticulously crafted they are, and how
brilliantly they simultaneously honor and parody just about every pop/rock style
from the awesome David Bowie pastiche "Bowie's In Space" to the
pompous message-soul masterpiece "Think About It" ("A man is
lying on the street, some punk has chopped off his head / And I'm the only one
who stops to see if he's dead / Turns out he's dead"). The Conchords
approach to parody is so good-naturedly self-effacing, it's easy to miss how
cutting they can be in puncturing the fatuous self-importance endemic in their
world.

Unfortunately for FOTC fans, Bret and Jemaine chose not to continue the
series after the second season. The Flight of the Conchords: The Complete
Collection set compiles both of the previously released season sets, and
adds a third disc, Flight of the Conchords: One Night Stand, a 30-minute
live performance special for HBO's One Night Stand series that pre-dates
the series. It's an extra FOTC fans who haven't seen it already will love, but
for those who already own both seasons on DVD, is the half-hour of live material
worth re-purchasing the other discs? For completists, yes—buy this set and
sell your old discs.

For those who don't own the previous seasons, the set offers superb video
and audio quality, with a lovely, crisp, vivid transfer that makes for a
terrific archive copy of the series. Season Two improves on the first season's
Dolby Digital 2.0 audio with a full, rich 5.1 track (English only). One of the
complaints about the first season set—no extra features—is remedied
on the second season discs, with a half-hour "Flight of the Conchords: On
Air" documentary feature that gives some background on the show's
conception and near-instant popularity—which took Bret and Jemaine utterly
by surprise—and a satisfying collection of odds and ends including a slew
of deleted scenes from Seasons 1 and 2, outtakes, and a collection of short
videos (including some funny "Dave's Pawn Shop" commercials)
originally offered on YouTube.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

While the first season of Flight of the Conchords is an indisputable
masterpiece, the series did flag a bit in its second season, with less-memorable
songs and plotlines that felt wackier, the jokes more forced. Chalk it up to
second album syndrome: FOTC had written and perfected most of the songs from the
first season years before the show's creation, when they were part of the duo's
standard repertoire. Then, with the success of the series, Bret and Jemaine
faced the unenviable task of coming up with another set of funny, clever songs
in just a year or so.

Not only that, but having created twelve perfect gems revolving around a
simple premise of two down-and-out musicians, their daffy manager, and stalkery
fan, where to go from there without repeating themselves several times too
often? The answer seemed to be to stick with the formula, but ramp up the
absurdity, which led—perhaps unavoidably—to episodes that felt like
"more of the same, only more so" remixes of the first season. By the
time I got to funny but forgettable tunes like "Fashion Is Danger" and
"I Told You I Was Freaky," I began—to my dismay—to feel
like it might not be a complete tragedy if Bret and Jemaine quit the show while
they were still on top.

Still, Season Two has its share of indelible moments, including Jemaine's
super-sexay "Sugalumps" dance number from "New Cup," the
completely straight-faced Magnolia
sendup "Hurt Feelings" from the "Tough Brets" episode, and
the story arc toward the end of the season involving a visit from
"Brian," the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Even a so-so season of
Flight of the Conchords makes for amazing TV.

Closing Statement

Flight of the Conchords, the series, may be gone, but fortunately,
Flight of the Conchords the band is alive and well. I can't wait to see what
these guys come up with, in the distant future. In the meantime, we can relive
the good times with this lovely boxed set.

The Verdict

The court finds Flight of the Conchords: The Complete Collection not
guilty—if that's what you're into.

Give us your feedback!

Did we give Flight Of The Conchords: The Complete Collection a fair trial? yes / no

What's "fair"? Whether positive or negative, our reviews should be unbiased, informative, and critique the material on its own merits.